Blood, Punishment, and Justice
by Hog s Head
Summary: Micheal Morbius is a vampire turned vigilante, and he has sworn to protect the innocent from the crime lords of Death City. But his isn't the only one with a quest to stop criminals. When Morbius meets a teenage boy, who calls himself the Punisher, he decides to become the boy's mentor, whether the Punisher likes it or not. T for blood, violence, and death. Edits coming soon.
1. Chapter 1

Morbius wandered the streets of Death City alone. It was late at night, and the usual heavy traffic had died down. Now everything was quiet, just the way he liked it. He looked up at the Cathedral, at the gargoyles that decorated the ancient stone walls.

_We have much in common. We are both protectors. Just as they use their frightening visage to scare away demons, I use my dark powers to protect this city. _Not that Morbius was pretty to look at. With his pale skin, glowing red eyes, and sharp teeth, he looked like a vampire. Which was fine with him. He was, after all, a vampire. Might as well look the part.

A van marked Oscorp. drove past, probably at double the speed limit. Morbius glared at it. Oscorp. was a large technological corporation. On the surface, they made and sold household appliances, but Morbius knew their dark secret. They were really a weapons manufacture for the crime lords of Death City. And there were many crime lords, Owl, The Big Man, Hammerhead, Silvermane, The Gorgons, Arachne and Medusa, Asura, even Tombstone, the rising star as it were. But little did these small names know that they, along with almost everything else in Death City, were being controlled by one man, a crime lord known only as the Kingpin.

So Morbius glared at the van that served to supply the wars between the crime lords. Yet he had another reason to hate Oscorp. His thoughts were interrupted by a faint ringing. The ringing was faint because it was miles away, in downtown Death City. But Morbius' advanced hearing allowed him to pick up such high-pitched noises, even at this distance. It was the ring of a burglar alarm. Morbius quickly leaped into the air, and flew off following the noise.

Minutes later, he found the glass doors of a bank broken, and a figure moving inside of it.

_Idiot, if he wants money from this bank, he will have to get through three feet of solid steel. _Robbing banks was nearly pointless nowadays, yet here was some amateur trying just that. Morbius stepped quietly through the opening in the door, and approached the man.

"You should not be here." Morbius knew his visage and his eastern European accent were enough to frighten most petty crooks. The man turned around his eyes wide with fear. Then with a sizzling sound, he collapsed.

_He is not the first one to faint._ Morbius thought with amusement. _But this time it was not me._ From the shadows, a teenaged boy, perhaps 17, emerged holding am oddly-shaped gun in his hand. The boy, checked the thief's pulse.

"Still alive. I guess I missed his spine." The boy holstered his gun, and looked up at Morbius. He was wearing a block hoodie and pants, a large skull decorated his chest. He looked very large under his clothing, but Morbius quickly realized that they boy was wearing body armor.

"What horror movie did you escape from?" The boy asked, glaring at Morbius.

Morbius laughed, long immune to remarks on his appearance. "The same as you it seems. But are you not a little young for this job?"

"What do you care, Dracula?

"I have sworn to protect the innocent." Morbius answered.

"Well then scram, I don't need your protection." The boy waved him away.

"So I noticed." Morbius said, glancing at the holster on the boy's hip. "You use a taser, and yet you seemed to want to kill that man."

"He's already shot three policemen on his way here." The boy shrugged, clearly he hardly cared about his justification. It was a lie though, and Morbius knew it. It there had been three men dead from gunshot wounds, he would have smelled it. Smelled the blood….No, don't think about that. To distract himself, Morbius decided that someone needed to teach this boy why being a vigilante was a bad idea.

"Listen boy, this is not the life for you. Go home to your family, and live your life."

"I don't have a life, and I don't have a family, and you can thank Asura for that!" The boy's face turned very angry. "And my name is The Punisher now."

"So is that it, vengeance for your family? Believe me boy, I have walked that path, and it does not lead anywhere nice. I have lost my entire clan, and my humanity, and now I do what I do, not for vengeance, but because it is right. I have a responsibility."

"So do I, freakshow, to the ghosts of my parents!" Morbius sighed.

"You want to take on Asura, you cannot do it alone."

"Says who. It'll be easy, shut down his power grid, plant one bomb, and that's it."

_This boy does not mess around. He could get many people killed, he plans on it. I doubt very much, that I can persuade him to give up his quest. _"What of the innocents you will kill with this bomb. You must know of Asura's slave ring.

"Let them die, what do I care?"

_This boy needs guidance, and I must give it to him. _"That is the wrong answer boy." Morbius grabbed the boy and flew out of the broken doors, and up into the air. "We do not kill innocents, or criminals, we let the law decide their fate."

"Maybe you do, but I don't, now let me down!"

"No. Someone must teach you how to live this life, and that someone is me."

"I don't want your help!"

"I did not ask you." Morbius pricked the boy with one of his claws, and the sleeping agent knocked him out. He flew back to the cathedral, and set the boy down in the bell tower. The bats opened their red eyes, inquisitively, but Morbius quickly calmed them.

_He is to be our new ally, my children._ And the bats whispered back, _let us mark him, he can be as strong as you._ Morbius glared at them. _I have told you many times before, I will not let another share my curse._ The bats went back into hibernation. Morbius moved to the window, and looked out at the moon. It grinned back him as though reminding him that he would have to deal with a very angry teenager with a taser when the dawn came.


	2. Chapter 2

When the dawn did come, Morbius returned to the bell tower, and found the Punisher was not where Morbius had left him. He wasn't worried though, Morbius knew that all of the exits from the tower were sealed, except for the windows, and there was no way to climb down. Oddly though, he couldn't smell or see the boy, even with his advances senses. Then he felt something sharp poke him in the back.

"Get me out of here, Freakshow." Morbius turned around to see the boy's hand had transformed into the blade of a black short sword.

"You are a weapon." Morbius mused.

"So what if I am?" The boy pressed the blade against Morbius' throat.

"Go ahead and cut, boy. It will do you no good." Morbius sneered, it wasn't as though he had blood to spill.

"What the hell are you Freakshow?" The boy snarled. Morbius was beginning to wonder which of them was half-beast.

"I am a vampire." Morbius' answer was laced with regret, though he didn't let it show on his face. The boy's face on the other hand showed obvious disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Look at me, boy, do I look like a jester?" Morbius' voice was becoming scornful, and his face might have been carved from stone.

"I'm going to enjoy this, and I'm gonna' make a mask out of your face!" Morbius felt the cold metal of the boy's blade across the side of his neck. He felt the pain of the cut, but did not feel the hot wetness of spilled blood.

"What in hell!" The boy jumped back, shock and fear evident in his expression.

"I told you it would do you no good." Morbius remarked, a hint of smugness in his voice. He turned to face the boy, just in time to catch the black blade as the boy attempted to decapitate his captor.

Morbius sighed. Then he had an idea, and he smirked. "I will cut you a deal, boy. Beat me in a fair fight, and I will let you go."

The boy snarled again, and jumped at Morbius, his blade held above his head intending to cut Morbius in two. Morbius, his expression becoming annoyed, side-stepped the attack. The boy hit the ground hard, his blade clanging against the stone. The boy immediately jumped to his feet and slashed at Morbius again, from the side this time. Morbius grabbed the blade, ignoring the pain, and threw the boy to the ground. Again the boy got up and charged at Morbius, and again Morbius side-stepped the attack, only this time the boy crashed into the wall.

"You disappoint me."

The boy shook his head like a wolf, and his hand returned to human form then dropped to his side. With the flick of a switch, the boy disappeared from Morbius' sight and smell. Morbius heard a soft rustle and another click, and knew that the boy had drawn his taser from its holster.

"I asked for a fair fight." Morbius reminded the boy. He scowled at the apparently empty room.

"There's no such thing." Came the boy's voice from behind Morbius. Morbius turned around and grabbed the boy's invisible arm, and threw him to the ground again, the energy of the impact deactivated the boy's stealth field. The boy's taser flew from his grip and it skidded across the stone floor. Morbius decided that enough was enough, and pinned the boy to the ground.

"Enough! You must see you cannot win." Morbius hissed. He tried not to stare at the boys exposed neck. _I swore I would never bite another human._

"Get off of me!" The boy yelled. He struggled to escape, but Morbius increased the pressure on the boy's limbs.

"No, it is time you listen to reason. I am a vampire, and yet you are the one acting like a monster." Morbius' sounded reproachful, and to his surprise, the boy looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"Kill me then." The boy closed his eyes, seemly waiting for something. "You beat me."

"I have told you before I do not kill." Morbius voice and face were both calm, and he stood up and held out his hand offering to help the boy up. The boy opened his eyes when he felt Morbius' weight leave him, and stared at Morbius' offered hand, clearly surprised.

"You aren't going to kill me?" The boy asked.

"No." Morbius said, still very calm. The boy hesitantly took Morbius' hand and stood up.

"What do you want with me then?" The boy watched as Morbius picked up his taser and handed back to its owner.

"I wish to train you as my partner. I think we both know you need it." Morbius was smiling now. The boy considered for a moment.

"I must be crazy, but ok." The boy and Morbius shook hands.

"It is time we were introduced properly. I am Michael Morbius."

"I'm Frank, Frank Castle."


End file.
